What's left inside
by gackt groupie
Summary: Before Castiel resurfaces to consume the Sam's memories of Hell, another angel beats him to it. And, upon seeing the damage he had taken in the cage, is furious. Complete, unless otherwise inspired for more.


He appeared with a satisfied flutter of wings. He'd been gone long enough, he decided, for the apocalypse to be diverted and for things on sweet Earth to return to normal. What better way to resurface than to nurse the younger Winchester back to health in the hospital he landed himself in for who knows what reason? The elder could finally remove the perpetual stick up his ass, let him in their little club and then _maybe _he'd be able to make good with his little bro Castiel again. He grinned wryly, eager to set his plans into play.

Plans that shattered quicker than his smile upon setting eyes on the broken man that lay in the hospital bed.

"_Sam?" _the archangel blurted, rushing to the hunter's side. Sam took no notice of him at first and continued to stare listlessly into the space between his left hand and his hip. A moment passed, then two before Sam's gaze made the slow incline to meet Gabriel's.

The angel felt his heart stop. He didn't need his heartbeat mind you, but the meaning behind it seemed a universal way to describe to horrible ache that blossomed deep inside himself at the sight before him. His hands shot out and cradled the younger Winchester's face between them, his thumbs stroking fretfully at the sallow skin. Golden eyes glimmered as they stared into the hazel, horrified and appalled and so _angry._

At the moment he could look past the dark shadows underneath the man's eyes, or the sharp and shrunken look of him that told of rapid weight loss. He could forgive how dull and lifeless Sam's eyes were, could even ignore how fragile he looked, like he'd shatter at the barest touch. Right now he was looking past all that, to what was left of Sam's soul.

This he couldn't forgive. In the slightest.

Sam's soul had been in the cage and the thing had been gutted_, _skinned, and thrown into a blender set on _pulverize_. It was barely even recognizable as a soul, so extensive was the damage. The thing inside _wailed _in agony, still haunted by the twin shreds of grace that continued to eat away at it. Gabriel stared, his own grace darkening in horror.

"Micheal, Lucifer, what..what have you done? Why would you do this?" he spoke to open air. For the first time since he popped into being, Gabriel felt hatred towards his brothers, because for once he saw them as they were: cruel. There was no justifiable reason for what had been done to this beautiful soul, this man. Whether or not he was a stubborn vessel, he was still a living and breathing individual. _Still one of their father's creations._

This proved they had no respect for anything but themselves. There was no hope left for Micheal. He was just as warped and twisted as their fallen brother.

"Gabriel." Sam's quiet utterance of his name brought him rushing back to reality, and his gaze returned to the deep brown eyes. "What are you doing here? You were dead."

The archangel gave a sad smile and shook his head. He ran a fretful hand over the man's stubbled cheek

"No kiddo. I left-ran. I'm so sorry. But I'm back now, and I won't leave again. I won't run again." He promised, both to Sam and to himself. He never should have left, never should have been such a fucking coward. He was an archangel for heaven's sake, graced by God, and he had run and hidden where two humans had not. Now he hated himself.

"Where's your brother?" he asked quietly. "Do you know?" He'd have to find the man and see what happened, see _why the fuck he'd let his baby brother get himself into this state in the first place. _Sam winced, his eyes blinking rapidly as he stared off to this side. Gabriel followed his line of sight when a shudder wracked the Winchester's body-only to find nothing. So unless pale yellow walls were suddenly a new human craze (they weren't), Sam was hallucinating. He forced the hunter to look at him with a gentle nudge of his hands, forcing a touch of his own grace inside him. Sam's soul gave a pained whimper at the presence of a third angelic grace and struggled, though at this point it barely had any fight left inside it.

_How could you do this?_

His own grace found the dark and twisted parasites that his brothers left behind and engulfed them, imprisoning them inside. They couldn't move or do any further damage for the time being, and with luck they'd give poor Sam a reprieve from whatever horrors he was undoubtedly seeing. Sam's soul quieted, letting out a sigh of relief. Gabriel leaned in to press a kiss to Sam's forehead and putting him into a much-needed sleep.

"_I'll fix this."_


End file.
